The 'Stranger Things' & 'It' Crossover Makes The Stephen King Adaptation Even Spookier

There may be plenty to be afraid of in the newest adaptation of Stephen King's It, but you should definitely be cheering for the young heroes of this film, The Losers Club. Led by protagonist Bill Denbrough, The Losers Club is a group of misfits who find themselves battling a demonic force — something that actor Finn Wolfhard, who plays Richie Tozier, is already familiar with due to his time starring on Stranger Things. In fact, Wolfhard's casting isn't the only Stranger Things connection to It, even if it is the most noticeable.

The connections between Stranger Things and It means that if you're a fan of the former, you'll definitely want to see the latter. The connections begin with the fact that the Duffer brothers, who helmed Stranger Things, reportedly wanted to direct this new adaptation, according to IMDb. In a 2016 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the brothers even explained how deeply It penetrated their psyches as kids, only for the film's tone and themes to resurface in Stranger Things years later.

Duffer brothers aside, the clearest Stranger Things holdover in It is Wolfhard. Playing a young nerd similar to his Stranger Things character, Wolfhard is channeling that same youthful fear of the unknown in It as he did playing Mike on the hit Netflix show. It also helps to draw those connections here now that he's once again part of a fictional, ragtag group of kids who may not possess all the skills to battle an otherworldly being they've never seen before.

And of course, the Stranger Things connections to It are seen in the aesthetic and feeling of the latter as well. King's novel was released in 1986, which means it was stepped in '80s culture and references upon release — pretty fitting for echoing those Stranger Things vibes. This new adaptation moves the time frame of the movie to the '80s as well (in the book, the kids are fighting it in the 1950s), which means that clothing, pop culture references, and even the look of the town of Derry, where the Losers live, is steeped in '80s iconography. Fans of Stranger Things will delight in It's '80s details if only because Stranger Things also paid such careful attention to its time period as well when building the world of Hawkins.